Are you happy with your 4th gen LGT?

I'm close to purchasing an '07 and so I was hoping to see if people are generally happy (or not) with their LGTs.

 

Would you buy your LGT again given another opportunity, or would you go another route?

 

Kind of a side note, what sorts of things should I look for in an 07 with somewhat high mileage? What kind of questions should I be asking?

Best car I've ever owned. I love sleepers and this one is also luxurious, decent on gas (on the highway) and looks damn good. I could have gone without cracking 2 pistons though...

 

How many miles does it have? Ask about the frequency of oil changes and whether the timing belt and associated components (water pump and pulleys) have been changed.

I bought an '08 in '08. I bought an '09 spec.B in '11. I suppose that says something about how much I care for them.

 

What specific features are you after in the car? The various years of the LGT have their ups and downs based on what you want.

 

There is a pre-purchase questions forum and newbies FAQ, etc around. Might be a good place to read up.

i really enjoy my car

no

I bought a 2008 SpecB new back in 2008. It's not my favorite car, but it serves its purpose. The only reasons I bought the LGT were I needed something with AWD, wanted something fun and needed something affordable. Subaru is really one of the only players in this segment (there are many affordable AWD cars, but few have the fun factor of the 'Roo's turbocharged performance and modability).

 

It's held up well mechanically. I've had problems with intake manifold gaskets, a wheel bearing, loose strut mounts, broken endlinks and the clutch; but it's been fine other than that. The car currently has 80,000 miles on it and it's stage 2. The biggest problem area(s) are all the noises and rattles. My car sounds like it's literally falling to pieces. There are squeaks, clunks and rattles everywhere -- and I mean everywhere! It's awful. It makes me question the solidity of these cars.

 

My biggest regret is not buying the STI I was looking at. The LGT is just too big for me, and it's packaged so inefficiently. The long nose design makes for a long vehicle with very little interior/cargo room. It's also way too soft in the corners.

 

Will I own another LGT: certainly not. Will I own another Subaru: this is going to be my one and only.

Out of curiosity, why not fix all those noises/rattles? Some of them may actually be caused by pieces literally about to fall off.

Yes.

Interesting you bring up interior noise and rattling. I once had a Mitsubishi Eclipse, and the rattles drove me nuts. I could never isolate where they were coming from. One of the reasons I've steered away from Mitsubishis. I'll definitely check for that this Saturday.

Out of curiosity, why not fix all those noises/rattles? Some of them may actually be caused by pieces literally about to fall off.

I've tried. Some are fixable, others I can't seem to fix. For example, my dash rattles by my left knee, where the little fuse door is. If I press up on it, I can stop the rattling. I'm yet to find a solution that permanently applies pressure to the area to stop the rattle.

 

Others even the "pros" can't find. I've had the underside of the vehicle looked at by several shops, but nobody can find the source of my constant undercarriage noise.

Ah ha.

 

http://www.homedepot.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?storeId=10051&productId=100353460&langId=-1&catalogId=10053&ci_sku=100353460&ci_src=14110944&cm_mmc=shopping-_-googlebase-_-D25X-_-100353460&locStoreNum=1907

 

Cut to size, this is how I fix my Subaru rattles. It's adhesive on one side, sticks well enough to trim that it stays in place and doesn't fall off (at least as far as 3-4 years in for me). Foam on the other so it stops rattles/applies pressure, but won't hurt/mar anything.

Ah ha.

 

http://www.homedepot.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?storeId=10051&productId=100353460&langId=-1&catalogId=10053&ci_sku=100353460&ci_src=14110944&cm_mmc=shopping-_-googlebase-_-D25X-_-100353460&locStoreNum=1907

 

Cut to size, this is how I fix my Subaru rattles. It's adhesive on one side, sticks well enough to trim that it stays in place and doesn't fall off (at least as far as 3-4 years in for me). Foam on the other so it stops rattles/applies pressure, but won't hurt/mar anything.

Great minds think alike... it just didn't work for me. It's not the fuse door itself. I think it's somewhere in the dash, perhaps where it meets another piece of plastic. Pushing on the dash in the location I described solves the problem, but I think it's because the pressure is being applied throughout the entire left side of the dash.

 

I also need to track down the mystery rattle on my shifter. It stopps when I touch the reverse lockout ring. How in the heck can that thing rattle?!

It's probably the actual dash. Very common on Subarus. If you pull the side panel to the dash, you'll see the bolts that hold it to the front crossmember of the car. You have to loosen those, and really shove the dash back solidly up against the crossmember and tighten it down. It's kind of tough to do, might take a couple tries, and you may need some helping hands.

 

Search around, you'll find some writeups on that dash rattle for sure.

 

The shifter one is a new one to me.

I'd probably buy another Legacy or outback. Probably a spec B next time. Passed on an 07 Spec B to buy a 07 Outback XT. I'm a sucker for wagons.

Sti...

I love my car and I really appreciate it in the winter. But... my gas mileage has dropped considerably, the rattles/squeaks/clunks/etc just drive me insane, I've had terrible experiences with my dealership trying to get shit fixed, etc etc etc. For a 2008 loaded model (minus NAV), some features -- and lack of features annoy me. Even with proper maintenance, I'm still worried about all the mechanical issues everyone has faced; blown turbos, pistons, ringlands, oil pick-ups etc etc. Yeah it's the luck of the draw, but it doesn't bode well.

 

I do love my car (ask my gf!), but honestly, I'd rather have spent money on a different car and picked up an old Subaru to drive in bad weather.

Does owning and having two in my driveway count ?

 

http://legacygt.com/forums/showthread.php/my-two-legacys-172923.html

^ What if you're just a glutton for punishment?

^ What if you're just a glutton for punishment?

Then he would have bought an Alfa.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

....... which I hope to do one day.

So far I'm happy with mine.

So far so good after 11 months and 18k miles.

 

Just minor things like replacing the battery (it was 6 years old), replacing a door handle (constant 0-degree temps will do that), replacing a headlight (any car), and maintenance (any car). My heated seats stopped working, but I think that was just a fluke. I've got to find the problem in the power wire between the fuse block and the controller.

I've had my LGT wagon for about 5 months now, and I love it more and more everyday. I've owned, 4 nissans, 1 SAAB story, 1 eagle talon, 1 Ford, and one Honda, but this is by far the best car I've owned. Now it only has 52k on the odo, so I might be singing a different tune come 150k, but as of now its my fab. I'm currently working on getting the wife to swap out her civic for an obxt, then we'll have to find one in a 5mt which will be a challenge.

Absolutely no regrets on a 2005 Legacy GT wagon 5mt unlimited. We paid $24.3k brand new with 200 miles. It has been very reliable in the first 100k miles with brakes twice and no issues.

 

Between 110k-115k miles a throw out bearing failed which prompted early replacement of clutch for $850. We also had some nutty electrical issues that turned out to be a bad alternator for $400.

 

We now have 120k miles and its doing well. Still a fun car to drive, no rattles, and interior is holding up well even with two kids in back seat.

 

23.7MPG average in the last 10k miles!

Well the last few posts have definitely been a lot more positive. Starting to feel a little better about this weekend...

Well the last few posts have definitely been a lot more positive. Starting to feel a little better about this weekend...

 

 

You'll see a lot more negative on forums because people come here looking for help trouble shooting problems. People don't normally make random threads about how reliable their car is and such.